Buckingham Palace will undergo renovations reaching $455 million, mainly fixing the decades old electrical wirings, sockets, lead pipes, and others in need of major refurbishments. The renovation will start in April and the result is expected to last for ten years. It will also ensure the palace from risk of fire and flood.
Other renovations will include solar panels aiming for lower electricity bills, 30 miles of new pipework, 1,514 new doors, 2,500 new radiators, 5,000 new light fixtures and repairs to the famous East Front balcony, according to Us Magazine.
Queen Elizabeth and other members of the Royal family will still live inside the palace despite the renovations. The staff living in Buckingham Palace will have to live in cabins on the palace lawn.
The money will come from a temporary 10% increase to the Sovereign Grant which is subsidized by the British Government to cover the expenses of the queen's household and crown estate. This means it will come from British taxpayers.
This resulted to mixed emotions from the locals who are currently experiencing economic slump. A campaign created by Mark Johnson in 38 Degrees persuade others to sign the petition to let the Royal family, who have millions of wealth, pay the renovations needed for the Palace.
"There is a national housing crisis, the NHS is in crisis, austerity is forcing cuts in many front line services. Now the Royals expect us to dig deeper to refurbish Buckingham Palace. The Crown's wealth is inestimable. This is, in a word, outrageous," the petition stated.
As of now, there are a total of 141,500 signatures that the petition accumulated and it needs 58,000 more to complete the campaign.
"Buckingham Palace is one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and this program is designed to extend its working life by a further 50 years," Tony Johnstone-Burt, master of the queen's household, stated, according to Today.
The palace pointed out that it is gaining revenue from tourism. Half a million tourists have been recorded visiting the Buckingham Palace during the summer season. It also housed considerable amount of artifacts which are important for the preservation of history and culture of the country.
"On completion of the work, we'll have a palace fit for purpose until 2067," Burt said. "The program addresses parts of the structure you can't see from the outside: the plumbing, electrics and other essential building services which have gone six decades without a comprehensive upgrade."
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